Xilaveko is a Tsonga lineage name associated with the Nkuna royal house, one of the senior clans of the Nhlave cluster of Tsonga clans in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and southern Mozambique.
Relationship to the Nkuna
The Nkuna are one of the leading Tsonga chiefly houses, historically centred in the Tzaneen and Ritavi area of Limpopo (the Nkuna traditional authority around Nwamitwa). Oral tradition remembers the Nkuna as having left the Ngome country of northern KwaZulu, moving through the Lydenburg (Mpumalanga) district and into Mozambique before settling in the Lowveld, where they adopted the Nhlave dialect of Xitsonga.
Within that house, Xilaveko is remembered as a descendant of Nkuna – the praise recorded on this site names him “n’wana wa Nkuna”, “child of Nkuna.” Lineage names like this identify a particular branch of the family and are used alongside the main clan praise.
Swivongo (praises)
The text currently on this page reads:
Xilaveko, n’wana wa Nkuna,
La nga dlayiki hikuva u lava ku hanya swinene.
(“Xilaveko, child of Nkuna, the one who cannot be killed because he loves life greatly.”) This is a short fragment from a secondary source. A full Nkuna/Xilaveko praise would open with the Nhlave call and name a chain of ancestors and places. We would like to record a verified version from the Nkuna royal house or Xilaveko elders.
Related clans and names
Nkuna (senior house), Mabunda, Maswanganyi, Nkwinika, Novela – the Nhlave cluster.
Sources and further reading
- Patrick Harries, Work, Culture and Identity (1994) – Tsonga clan formation and the Nhlave cluster.
- Henri-Alexandre Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe (1912-13).
- Records of the Nkuna Traditional Authority, Greater Tzaneen (Limpopo).
Help us improve this page. Xilaveko and Nkuna history is carried mostly in oral tradition. If you can supply a verified praise text, the line of descent from Nkuna, or a totem, send us a WhatsApp on 065 138 8213 or use our contact page. We credit contributors who wish to be named.